does "vista compatible" SW work in 64 bit and 32 bit?

[idiotprogrammer]

Hi, I'm trying to decide whether to buy vista 64 bit or 32 bit.

I know there are hardware drivers to pay attention to if I do 64
bit.

But I have a lot of applications for XP (and/or Vista) that I need to
look up.

My limited understanding is that 32 bit sw works in 64 bit Vista, but
can I take that rule to the bank?

What about Office 2003 32 bit version?

What about most freeware?

I realize that software may not be optimized for 64 bit, but as long
as it can work, that would be nice.

The reason this is coming up: I'm buying a new system, and am thinking
of buying 4 gigs of RAM

 

[idiotprogrammer]

ok, i see this list
http://www.iexbeta.com/wiki/index.php/Windows_Vista_RTM_Software_Compatibility_List

I'll be checking my sw against this list. But in general, would
freeware/open source stuff tend to work on 64 bit windows?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi, I'm trying to decide whether to buy vista 64 bit or 32 bit.

I know there are hardware drivers to pay attention to if I do 64
bit.

But I have a lot of applications for XP (and/or Vista) that I need to
look up.

My limited understanding is that 32 bit sw works in 64 bit Vista, but
can I take that rule to the bank?

In general, your understanding is correct. But there are exceptions,
so it would be wise to check with the vendors of each program you want
to run.

What about Office 2003 32 bit version?

What about most freeware?

*Most* is correct.

I realize that software may not be optimized for 64 bit, but as long
as it can work, that would be nice.

The reason this is coming up: I'm buying a new system, and am thinking
of buying 4 gigs of RAM

Why? Unless you run particularly memory-hungry applications, almost
everyone will see little or no improvement by going above 2GB.